Ticket-collecting apparatus.



v PATENTED JULY 11, 1905.

H. L. DES ANGES. TICKET COLLECTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5,1904

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\wmq my Qb WITNESSE 12% PATENTED JULY 11, 1905.

H. L. DES ANGES.

TICKET COLLECTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5,1904.

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PATENTED JULY 11, 1905.

H. LPDES ANGELS.

TIGKET COLLECTING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 5,1904.

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Patented July 11, 1905.

PATENT OEEIcE.

HENRY L. DES ANGES. OF NElV YORK, N. Y.

TICKET-COLLECTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,217, dated July 11, 1905.

Application filed August 5, 1904. Serial No. 219,644.

To all wl'tom/ it put concern.-

Be it known that I, H ENRY L. Des ANeus, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, Long island City, borough of Queens, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Ticket -Collecting Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to an apparatus particularly intended for use in connection with steamboat and railway systems to collect admission-tickets from the passengers as they pass aboard the train or boat. The invention is not, however, limited to this particular use and may be employed under various other analogous conditions.

The principal object of the invention is to so construct and arrange the apparatus that fraud on the part of persons in charge will be impossible. In attaining this end I provide a stand containing a box in which the tickets are finally collected. This box is removably placed in thestand, and it is provided with a closure which automatically looks as the box is withdrawn, so that when the collected tickets are to be removed to the auditor or other person having charge or control thereof the box need only be withdrawn from the stand to securely seal its contents, the box being also provided with a key-controlled closure enabling the proper person to gather its contents. Preferably this box and stand are employed in connection with some means for primarily receiving tickets and guiding them into the box. This may be either a vase located on the top of the stand above the box, or the stand may be formed with an opening in its upper portion directly to receive the tickets and provided at this point with devices for drawing the tickets into the box and for preventing their fraudulent removal. In case the vase is employed primarily to receive the tickets this vase is constructed with certain peculiarly-arranged glass partitions or vanes which render it impossible for any instrument to be inserted into the vase to remove the ticket previous to its finally dropping into the collecting-box.

The invention involves various other features, all of which will be fully set forth hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is had to the accompanyingdraw- 'ings, which illustrate several forms of theinvention, in which drawings like numerals of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and in which- Figure lis a perspective view of the form of the device employing a stand and vase. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the upper part of the same on theline 1 1 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a similar section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section looking upward from the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3, showing the ticket-box and its closure during the act of removing the tickets. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing the closure for the ticket-box in a position which it assumes during the insertion of the ticket-box into place. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the division plate or wall between the stand and the vase. Fig. 9 is adetail perspective view of the closure-plate employed on the ticket-box. Fig. 10 is an enlarged section of a modified form of the invention in which the vase is dispensed with, and Fig. 11 is a section on the line 11 11 of Fig. 10.

I will first describe that form of my invention in which the stand is employed in connection with the peculiar vase, tickets being primarily dropped into the vase, where they may be viewed by the attendant to determine their sufiiciency and afterward permitted to drop into the box.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 8, 15 indicates the stand, which may, if desired, be of the form usually employed in connection with ticket apparatus of the class to which my invention belongs. This stand is provided with a door 16, provided with hasps l7, adapted to carry a lock for holding the door closed and preventing it from being opened by un authorized persons. 18 indicates the box for finally receiving the tickets, and 20 indicates the exterior walls of the vase, which is mounted on the stand over the box primarilyto receive the tickets. The said vase comprises in addition to these main walls 20 a rearwardlyinclining front wall 21, formed of glass or other transparent material, and asimilar rearwall 22. These walls 20, 21, and 22 mount the mouthpiece 24 of the vase, through which the tickets are introduced into the apparatus. Below said mouthpiece are arranged a plurality of rearwardly-inclined transparent partitions 25, here shown as four in number; but the precise number is not essential. From the rear wall 22 a transparent wall 26 inclines downward and forward to the bottom of the vase. The tickets inserted into the mouthpiece 24 of the vase will pass between the partitions or vanes 25 and upon striking the Wall 26 will slide down the same to the bottom of the vase. These partitions 21, 22, 25, and 26 not only enable the ticket to be viewed as it is placed in the vase, but they also render it impossible for them to be removed from the vase after having been once placed therein, the parallel partitions or vanes 25 preventing the insertion into the vase of any instrument capable of removing the ticket. The stand 15 and vase 20 are separated by a horizontal wall having a ticket-outlet opening 28, to which the inclining wall 26 leads.' Below the front wall 21 of the vase is a rearwardly-inclined transparent wall 29, which leads to a point approximately over the opening 28, and at each side ofthe vase are inwardly-inclined interior walls 30. The parts 26, 29, and 30 form, therefore, a graduallycontracting passage for the tickets, and as the tickets fall from the walls 30 they are guided toward the discharge-opening 28 by perpendicular side walls 31. (Best shown in Figs. 2 and 3.) When the opening 28 is uncovered, the tickets have a free unrestrained drop from the vase; but 1 provide amovable closure 32, by means of which the opening 28 may be temporarily covered, thus holding the tickets in the vase long enough to permit them to be examined by the attendant. This closure 32 is arc-shaped, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 6,

and is carried to rock, as indicated by the full and broken lines, as shown in Fig. 2, by means of arms 33, connected to a rock-shaft 34. Said shaft is mounted in bearings 35, attached to the division plate or wall 27 before described, and at one end of the shaft outside of the walls 20 of the vase the shaft is provided with a crank-arm 36, connected to a link 37. The crank-arm 36 is covered by a supplemental'housing 38. (Shown best in Fig. 4.) The link 37 extends down inside of the stand 15 to a treadle 39, by means of which the link and the arm 36 may be rocked upward,thus throwing the closure 32 down in operative position, as shown by the broken lines in Fig.2. 4O indicatesa spring acting to return the parts to the open position of the closure. The box 18 has a lid or cover 41, which is hinged to the box, as indicated at 42, (see Fig. 2,) and which is provided at the opposite or front side with a hasp or eye 43, adapted to coact with a lock whereby to securely fasten the cover or to permit its removal by authorized persons. The cover 41 is provided with an opening 44, adapted to lie with one end portion under the opening '28. Below the cover 41 a plate 45 is fastened, this plate having an opening 46, registering with the opening 28 and with the right-hand portion of the opening 44. When the parts are in the adjustment shown in Fig. 2, the tickets are free to drop through the several openings 28 44 46 into the interior of the box 18. Arranged to slide in the opening 44 and held in place by means of guide-pins 47, working in slots 48 in the plate 45, (see Fig. 5,) is a cover-plate 49, which has an upwardly-extending flange at its right-hand end. Said cover-plate is movable to the open position (shown in Fig. 2) or to the closed position, (indicated in Fig. 6,) in which latter position the cover-plate lies over the opening 46 and in the right-hand extremity of the opening 44. The division plate or wall 27 is provided with an opening 51, adapted to receive the flange 50 of the cover 49, so as to hold said cover 49 while the box 18 is moved inward, thus uncovering the opening 46, or to hold the coverplate 49 when the box is moved outward, thus covering ,the opening 46, the box being adapted to be moved upward and downward, respectively, to engage and disengage the lip 50 with the walls of the opening 51 in a manner which will be hereinafter fully set forth. Fastened to the under side of the plate 45 is a spring-arm 52, which is incased in a housing 54 to prevent the spring from being tampered with and which carries a lock-pin 53, playing through an opening in the plate 45 and adapted to enteracorresponding opening 55 in the closure-plate 49, the parts 53 and 55 being so adjusted that when the pin 53 has entered into the said opening 55 the closure-pin will be locked in the closed position. (Shown in Fig. 6.) The closure-plate 49 is also formed with a cavity 56 on its under side, said cavity coacting with a pin 57, which serves by engaging the walls of the cavity to hold the closure-plate 49 in partly-open position, this pin 57 acting for a period just prior to the insertion of the box 18 into the stand 15, as will be hereinafter fully set forth. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 7, the pin 57 is pressed into active position by a spring 58, Which bears between the pin and an arm 59, secured to the under side of the plate 45. Secured to the side of the box 18 and projecting outward therefrom are lugs 60, which are four in number, two for each side of the box, and which are arranged one above the other, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. These lugs are adapted to engage corresponding guiding and supporting devices, by means of which the box is held in position. Said guiding and supporting devices, according -to the construction here IIO shown, are two in number, located one at each inner side wall of the stand 15, and each being formed of two plates, (designated 61 and 62, respectively.) Said plates are fastened together side by side and are formed with relatively wide openings 63 and 64 at different elevations, these openings being connected by a relatively narrow passage 65 and a relatively narrow cavity 66, projecting from said opening 64 in each guide. The outer plate 61 of each guide is in addition formed with an enlarged opening 67, communicating with the said relatively narrow opening 66. This enlarged opening 67 contains sliding stops 68, which are yieldingly pressed in the forward position (shown in Fig. 4) by means of springs 69 hearing against the stops 68 and against studs 70, carried by the inner plates 66 of the guides for the lugs 60. Arranged to rock around said stud are arc-shaped blocks 71, which are loosely placed in the inner or righthand ends of the said enlarged cavities 67 and which are covered by the inner plates 62 of the guides for the lugs 60. The block 71 extends from the lower part of the enlarged passage 67 up into the narrow passage 66, which extends through both of the plates 61 and 62. When the box is inserted into the stand 15, it is moved rearward thereinto, the door 16 being open, and the inner or rear lugs 60 are entered into the openings 63 and from thence into the relatively narrow passage 65 of the box-guides. This rearward movement is thus continued until the upper guides 60 enter the enlarged openings 64 and strike against the normally projected stops 68, pushing the same rearward from the position shown in Fig. 4 and causing the blocks 71 to rock upward correspondingly. The forward or lower guide-lugs 60 will at this time occupy a position within the outer enlarged opening 63 of the lug-guides, and at this time the entire box should be raised and thence moved rearward, the outer. or lower lugs 60 entering the lower passages 65 and the upper or rear lugs 60 entering the narrow passages 66 above the stops 68 and finally striking the blocks 71 and rocking them back to the position shown in Fig. 4, thus moving outward the stops 68 also to said position. It follows from the described structure of the guides that the box is forced to move inward, thence upward, and thence inward to place the box in position, or, broadly speaking, the box is forced to move on intersecting lines. Before these engaging movements of the box 18 are brought about the closure-plate 49 should be adjusted to cause the stop-pin 57 to enter the cavity 56 in the bottom of the closure-plate, thus holding the closure-plate in partly-open position. The various parts of the apparatus are so proportioned that when the upper or rearward lugs 60 enter the enlarged openings 64 and are in position to be elevated into the narrow passages 66 the stud 50 of the closure-plate 49 lies directly under the opening 51 of the divisionplate or wall 27, and therefore when the box 18 is finally moved upward, as explained, the stud 50 is under said opening 51, and the closure plate thereupon becomes locked with the division-wall 27, so that when the box 18 is given its final inward or rearward movement the closure-plate is held stationary and the box, when moved into the position shown in Fig. 2, slides on the coverplate, thus completely uncovering the several openings 28, 44, and 46. After the box 18 has become filled with tickets or at any other time when it may be desired to remove the box the box should be withdrawn by moving it forward, so as to move the lugs 60 out of the several cavities of the lug-guides. When this takes place, the closure-plate 45 will still be held by the lug 50 and the walls of the opening 51 in the division-plate 27, and as the box 18 is moved the plate 45 will be moved under the closure-plate and the closure-plate caused to occupy the position at the righthand extremity of the opening 44 of the plate 41, thus completely closing the box, the parts then assuming the position shown in Fig. 6. When this takes place, the box should be dropped to disengage the lug 50 from the opening 51 (the box having been previously 9 held raised by the engagement of the lugs 60 with the lug-guides 61 and 62 at the inner sides of the stand 15) and the box will then be free from the stand. It should be noted, however, that when the cover-plate assumes the position shown in Fig. 6 the lock-pin 53 enters the opening 55 in the closure-plate 49 and holds the closure-plate in said position, thus effectively preventing the fraudulent opening thereof. It has been before explained that when the box is inserted into the stand the'closure-plate 49 is moved to partly open position and held by the stop-pin 57. By this adjustment of the closure-plate, as shown in Fig. 7, the closure-plate is caused to assume fully-open position by the final inward movement of the box 18, as explained. In order to bring about the before-described closing movement of the closure-plate, it is necessary to enforce the box 18 to move horizontally while the lug 50 is engaged in the opening 51 for a longer period when disengaging or displacing the box than when engaging or implacing the same. When the box is entered into place, it strikes the stop 68 and moves it rearward, and then the box is raised with its inner lugs 60 into the relatively narrow passages 66. After this, however, the spring 69 and the engagement of the inner lugs 60 with the block 71 causes the stop 68 to move forward, as shown in Fig. 4, and it follows that when the box 18 is being disen-' gaged from the stand 15 it will have to be moved horizontally for a longer distance before being dropped to disengage the lug 5O the same lugs and guides.

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from the opening 51 than said box was moved inward with the lug so engaged upon the implacing movement of the box. This difference in movement is sufficient to make up for the degree to which the closure-plate 49 was opened when in the position shown in Fig. 7, and consequently when the box 18 is completel y withdrawn the inclosure-plate is moved into completely-closed position and locked by a pin 53, as before described.

In preparing to place the box 18 in position the auditor or other person in charge of this work should raise the lid 41 from the box and disengage the lock-pin 53 from its opening 55, so that the closure-plate 49 may be moved to the partly-open position shown in Fig. 7, it being held removable in such position by the action of the pin 57. Then the box should be moved inward into the case 15, then upward, and finally inward, so that the lugs may travel through the various passages in the lug-guides, as before explained. Incident to this movement is the engagement of the lug 50 with the opening 51 upon the last upward movement of the box 18, and upon the last rearward movement the closure-plate 49 is caused to assume an open position. After this has been done the front door 16 of the stand 15 should be locked, and the apparatus will then be in operative adjustment. Tickets inserted into the apparatus may be viewed at will by the person in charge and allowed to drop into the box 18. When it is desired to remove the box to empty the contents, the properly-authorized person may unlock the door 16 and draw outward the box 18, the parts then taking the position shown in Fig. 6. After this takes place it is necessary to drop the box 18, so as to disengage the lug 50 from the opening 51, and then the box may be finally withdrawn, the closure-plate 49 being locked in closed position. The box 18 is provided with a handle 7 3 to facilitate its operation.

Referring particularly to Figs. 10 and 11, 1 will next describe the form of the invention in which the stand or closure for the box 18 is in the form of a counter past which the passengers move and deposit tickets in an opening in the counter, the vase being omitted. In this form of the invention the box 18 is precisely the same as before described, it being provided with the same closure-plate and The lug 50 of the closure-plate 49 instead of coacting with a division-plate between the stand and vase coacts with an opening in a block 74, secured beneath the top of the said'counter. 76 indicates the lower parts of the counter, and it will be observed that the parts 75 and 76 constitute the due equivalent of the stand 15,

the top 75 corresponding with the -divisionwall 27. Said top 75 has an opening 76 therein, through which the tickets are dropped either by the passengers or by the attendant.

If desired, a wear-plate 77 may be placed on the top 75 over said opening 76. Located in the opening 76 below the wear-plate 77 are two rollers 78, preferably covered with rubber or other soft material, so that they may effectively grip the tickets, the rollers and wear-plate being so arranged that the tickets must necessarily be passed between the rollers on their way to the box 18. The rollers 78 are carried on rotating shafts 79, one of which extends through a suitable passage formed in the top 75 and has ratchet-wheels 80 attached thereto. These ratchet-wheels coact with pawls 81, carried on an arm 82, rocking loosely around the shaft 79. Connected to the arm 82 is a link 83, which extends downward and is joined to a suitable treadle 84 and spring 85, by which the proper movement may be imparted to the pawls 81 to give the shafts 79, and consequently the rollers 78, a step-by-step rotating movement acting to draw the tickets between the rollers and drop them into the box 18. These rollers 78 serve, therefore, not only to move the tickets into position in the box, but also to prevent any one from reaching into the box to remove the tickets once deposited therein. Various changes in the form, proportions, and minor details of my invention may be resorted to at will without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Hence I consider myself entitled to all such variations as may lie within the terms of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination of a stand, a ticket-receiving box, adapted to move in and out of said stand, the stand and ticket-receiving box having registering ticket-openings, a movable closure for the opening in the box, and a means for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means forcing the box to move on intersecting lines, and the closure having a part adapted to engage a part of the stand thereby automatically to operate the closure.

2. The combination of a stand, a ticket-receiving box, a closure for the ticket-receiving box, the closure being adapted to engage a part on the stand, and means for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means forcing the box to take an upward and thence inward implacing movement, and an outward and downward displacing movement, said means including an automatic device for lengthening the said outward movement with respect to the said inward movement for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of a stand, a ticket-receiving box, a closure for the ticket-receiving box, the closure being adapted to engage a part on the stand, means for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means forcing igo the box to take an upward and thence inward implacing movement, and an outward and downward displacing movement, said means including an automatic device for lengthening the said outward movement with respect to the said inward movement for the purpose specified, and an automatic lock for holding the closure in closed or active position.

4. The combination of a stand having a ticket-receiving opening, of a ticket-receiving box having an opening adapted to register with the ticket-receiving opening of the stand, a closure for the said opening of the box, the closure having an upwardly-projected part adapted to engage a part on the stand, and means for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means forcing the box to take an upward and thence inward implacing movement, and an outward and thence downward displacing movementfor the purpose specified.

5. The combination of a stand having a ticket-receiving opening, of a ticket-receiving box having an opening adapted to register with the ticket-receiving opening of the stand, a closure for the said opening of the box, the closure having an upwardly-projected part adapted to engage a part on the stand, means for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the-box with respect to the stand, said means forcing the box to take an upward and thence inward implacing movement, and an outward and thence downward displacing movement for the purpose specified, and an automatic. lock for holding the closure in active or closed position.

6. The combination of a stand having a ticket-receiving opening, of a ticketreceiving box having an opening adapted to register with the ticket-receiving opening of the stand, a closure for the said opening of the box, the closure having an upwardly-projected part adapted to engage a part on the stand, and

means for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means forcing the box to take an upward and thence inward implacing movement, and an outward and thence downward displacing movement for the purpose specih'ed, said guiding means including an automatic device for lengthening the said outward movement of the ticket-receiving box.

7. The combination of a stand, a ticket-receiving box, a closure for the ticket-receiving box, the closure having an upwardly-projecting part adapted to engage a part on the stand, an automatic lock for holding the closure in active or closed position, a releasable restraining device for holding the closure in partlyopen position, and means for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means causing the box to take an upward and thence inward implacing movement and an outward and thence downward displacing movement, and

including an automatic device for lengthening the said outward movement.

8. The combination of a stand, a ticket-receiving box, a closure for the ticket-receiving box, the closure having an upwardly-projecting part adapted to engage a part on the stand, an automatic lock for holding the closure in active or closed position, a releasable restraining device for holding the closure in partlyopen position, and means for guiding the implacingand displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means causing the box to take an upward and thence inward implacing movement and an outward and thence downward displacing movement, and including an automatic device for lengthening the said outward movement, the said automatic device comprising a stop adapted to be moved outward upon the end of the said inward movement of the box. v

9. The combination of a stand, a ticket-receiving box, a closure for the ticket-receiving box, the closure having an upwardly-projecting part adapted to engage a part on the stand, an automatic lock for holding the closure in active or closed position, a releasable restraining device for holding the closure in partlyopen position, and means for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the 'box with respect to the stand, said means causing the box to take an upward and thence inward implacing movement and an outward and thence downward displacing movement, and including an automatic device for lengthening the said outward movement, the said automatic device comprising a stop and a rocking block engaged therewith and adapted to be struck by a part of the box upon reaching the end of the said inward movement thereof, whereby to project the stop outward and thereby ,increase the length of the said outward movement of the box.

10. The combination of a stand, a ticket-receiving box, a closure therefor, the closure having an upwardly-projecting part adapted to engage a part on the stand, a lug projecting from the box, and means on the stand for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means comprising a guide proper causing the box to take an upward and inward implacing movement, and an outward and downward displacing movement.

11. The combination of a stand, a ticket-receiving box, a closure therefor, the closure having an upwardly-projecting part adapted to engage a part on the stand, a lug projecting from the box, and means on the stand for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means comprising a guide proper causing the box to take an upward and inward implacing movement, and an outward and downward displacing movement, and also comprising an automatic device for lengthening the said out- Ward movement with respect to the said inward movement of the box.

12. The combination of a stand, a ticket-receiving box, a closure therefor, the closure having an upwardly-projecting part adapted to engage a part on the stand, a lug projecting from the box, and means on the stand for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means comprising a guide proper causing the box to take an upward and inward implacing movement, and an outward and downward displacing movement, said means also comprising a stop and a rocking block for automatically projecting same upon the end of the said inward movement of the box, whereby to lengthen the said outward movement of the box with respect to the said inward movement thereof.

13. The combination of a stand having a ticket-receiving opening, the box having a ticket-receiving opening adapted to register. with the opening in the stand, a closure for the opening on the box, the closure being adapted to engage a part on the stand automatically to operate the closure upon the removal of the box from the stand, a vase mounted on thestand over the ticket-receiving opening thereof, a.closure for the ticketreceiving opening in the stand, and means for operating the second-named closure at will, the said vase having a plurality of transparent diagonally-disposed vanes or partitions.

14. A ticket-receiving vase having a ticketreceiving opening therein, and a plurality of parallel diagonally-disposed transparent vanes or partitions extending from said opening into the box for the purpose specified.

15. A ticket-receiving vase having a ticketreceiving opening therein, and a plurality of paralleldiagonally-disposedtransparent vanes or partitions extending from said opening into the box for the purpose specified, the front wall of the vase being transparent to permit observation of the interiorof the vase.

17. A ticket-receiving vase having a ticketreceiving opening, and a plurality of vanes or partitions extending from said opening diagonally into the box, and the vase also having a rear wall adapted to receive the tickets from the said vanes or partitions, and the rear wall inclined across the planesof the said vanes or partitions.

18. A ticket-receiving vase having a ticketreceiving opening, and a plurality of vanes or partitions extending from said opening diagonally into the box, and the vase also having a rear wall adapted to receive the tickets from the said vanes or partitions, and the wall inclined across the planes of the said vanes or partitions, the vase having a transparent front wall to permit the observation of the interior of the vase.

19. The combination with a stand, a ticketreceiving box, a closure for the ticket-receiving box, the closure being adapted to engage a part in the stand, and means for guiding the implacing and displacing movement of the box with respect to the stand, said means including an automatic device for lengthening the displacing movement with respect to the implacing movement.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

H. MEYER, JOHN HILL. 

